I am SO glad you posted this. I have some questions about this that I hope you all can help me with. Every month my wife and two of her friends take their dogs to the local nursing homes. On occasion (like yesterday) I go with them--they had the dogs in costume for Halloween--you ain't lived 'til you've seen a malamute dressed as tinkerbell.

The question I have is about how to comport myself with the older folks in the homes. I have a real problem with what seems to be a patronizing tone that one seems to naturally fall into when conversing with the elderly. I generally want to assume that the residents should be talked to with the respect that I would want shown me--problem is, seems to me they actually respond better to the less adult banter (of course I'm talking generally and also not specifically about Alzheimer's patients). I've often thought of taking my guitar and playing for them as a friend of mine does but I can't get past this uncomfortable issue. My grandparents died when I was very young--guess I just got no practical experience. Help anyone?

John